Students in the Marriott School of Business learned the value and importance of teamwork after winning two competitions during the last month.

"We learned the importance of having a cohesive team, and trusting each other," said Solomon Lee, a finance student from Kuhuku, Hawaii, and member of the undergraduate team that won first place in the Center for International Business Education and Research Case Challenge.

Universities from around the world came to Ohio State to participate in this business competition. Teams were asked to come up with a strategy to help Valiant Pharmaceuticals, a company based out of California, expand operations to Europe.

"We were given 24 hours to analyze the case and think of a strategy for the firm to implement," said Lee. "We took a different approach, which helped to set us apart."

Laura Thompson, another team member, agreed with Lee. She said BYU's strategy was more specific than some of the other schools' strategies.

"The other teams did general strategies," Thompson said. "Our strategies for the company were a little more specific. We wanted this company to have a new pitch to add to something they were already doing."

After submitting their strategies, the team presented their ideas for 20 minutes to a panel of judges consisting of business professionals in the Columbus, Ohio area.

Following the presentation, the judges asked the team questions for another 20 minutes.

Going into the competition the team wanted to win, but their main goal was to give BYU a good name.

"We didn't focus on winning," Lee said. "Our team really wanted to do our best to represent the school."

The competition helped these students learn and understand the many factors involved in international business.

They learned things they couldn't have learned in the classroom, Lee said.

The undergraduate tax team also won first place, and the graduate tax team won second place at the Deloitte Tax Case Study Competition in Orlando last month.

In that competition, the teams were given four hours to answer questions about a tax scenario using the internal revenue codes and treasury regulations.

"The biggest factor that helped us win was that we were able to work well together," said Lauren Inouye, undergraduate team member from Herndon, Va. "We had really complementary strengths."



Copyright Brigham Young University 5 Dec 2007